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Young Folk's Library of Choice Literature 


Wab Sing 

©itr “Little Chinese Cousin 


BY 


HELEN L* CAMPBELL 

U 


EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING COMPANY 
BOSTON 

New York Chicago San Francisco 


LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
Two Copies Received 

FEB 9 190b 

^Copyright Entry 

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CLASS (K XXc. No, 

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COPY B. 


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Copyrighted 

By EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING COMPANY 


1904. 










































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WAH SING AND SOME OF HIS FRIENDS- 




Our Little Chinese Cousin 


Wah Sing is such a queer little fellow. 
But then he lives in one of the queerest coun- 
tries of the world. He is our Chinese cousin. 

If you could dig a hole down deep enough 
through the earth you would come out on the 
other side and find yourself in China, Wah 
Sings home. He is a funny looking boy. 
He has black eyes shaped like almonds. They 
are not made on a straight line, but they slant 
down towards each other. He has a little flat 
nose, which looks as if some one had given it 
a big punch to keep it from growing. He has 
high bones in his cheeks. His skin is yellow. 
The top of his head is bald, like your grand- 
pas, and has been shaved perfectly smooth. 


6 


OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 


The hair on the back of his head is pulled 
back and braided into what we call a little 
queue. Wah Sing is very proud of his queue. 
It would be to him a most terrible punishment 
to have it cut off. He is only eight years old, 
but he looks like a little old man. 

He does not make a noise when he walks, 
for he has thick felt soles on his shoes. They 
are made of silk and embroidered with pretty 
flowers. He wears big trousers which come 
down to his ankles. He has on a tunic of 
blue silk with big sleeves, like a loose sack. 
He often uses these sleeves for pockets. He 
can put many playthings in them. When he 
goes out doors he wears a silk cap on his head. 
He can have these lovely things to wear, for 
his papa is a rich man. 

Oh, dear, what a fuss there was when Wah 
Sing was born ! How proud his father was 


OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 


7 


because he was a boy ! A very important 
thing must be done at once. He must be pro- 
tected from the evil spirits that frighten the 
babies. That is what the Chinese think ; for 
they have very odd notions about such things. 
So papa and his friends have a very solemn 
ceremony. They take a piece of red paper, on 
which they write two words. Inside the 
paper, they fold up two kinds of fruit that are 
used in making soap. This will make Wah 
Sing very neat and tidy all his life. 

Besides these, they put in an onion so that 
the boy shall grow to be wise ; for the Chinese 
think knowledge is the best thing in the world. 
Two pieces of charcoal are added to make the 
baby strong. They must not forget to put in 
a lock of hair from a cat and one from a dog. 
These will keep Wah Sing from being fright- 
ened by the noises of animals. All these 


8 


OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 


things are carefully wrapped up in the red 
paper and tied with a red string. The funny 
little bundle is hung outside the nursery door. 
It will keep away the evil spirits. 

But this is not enough, so the loving 
Chinese papa thinks. He gets a pair of his 
trousers and hangs them upside down on the 
bedstead. He fastens a paper on them, and 
asks the evil spirits, should they come, to 
please step into the trousers and let his baby 
alone. After a few days the charms are taken 
away ; Wah Sing will be safe now. 

When he was a month old the barber came 
to see the baby. This was a great day — the 
day of the first shave. A feast was spread. 
All his papas friends were invited to the cele- 
bration. Every spear of hair must be cut 
from Wah Sing’s head. 

Then for the first time he had a name given 


OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 


9 


him ; but do not imagine it was Wah Sing. 
He must have a “ milk ” name first. So his 
papa chose the Chinese word for “ kindness.” 



Afterwards, when he was named Wah Sing, 
his papa thought a long, long time before 
making a choice. It was very important to 


10 


OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 


get something that would make the evil spirits 
think he did not care much about his boy. 
He wished to deceive them. If his boy had 
an ugly name the bad spirits would believe no 
one loved him. Then it would not be worth 
while to injure him. After the feast of the 
shaving, a little hair was allowed to grow on 
the back of Wah Sing’s head. As soon as it 
was long enough, it was gummed up and tied 
with red silk. It was such a comical pigtail. 
It stuck straight out from his head, but his 
mamma was very proud of it. 

When our Chinese cousin was four months 
old, there was another great feast at his house. 
That was the day when Wah Sing must sit 
up all alone in a chair for the first time. His 
grandma brought a strange looking chair" — 
all painted red. She also had a lot of very 
sticky candy. What do you think that was 


OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 


11 


for? Can’t you guess? Why, to stick Wah 
Sing down on the chair! It would make him 
sit up straight, and would keep him from tum- 
bling out, too. Then the solemn looking little 
baby was given some playthings. He was 
supposed to understand that after this he must 
sit up in chairs and amuse himself like grown- 
up people. 

When Wah Sing was a year old, his papa 
had the greatest feast and most important 
ceremony of all. This was the time for the 
little yellow baby to decide what kind of a 
business he would have when he grew up. A 
big bamboo sieve was brought to him. In it 
were a book, some make-believe money, a little 
looking-glass, some fruit, a gold bracelet, a 
pair of scissors, and many other things. 

And now, how his friends gathered round to 
watch what he would take out of the sieve ! 



A STREET IN A CHINESE CITY 







OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 


13 


They did not speak. They were just as quiet 
— we say — as a mouse. I don’t know how 
they say it in China. The little baby fingers 
reached out and tried to pick up a book. Oh, 
what pleasure that gave his papa! His boy 
would grow up to be a great scholar. 

All his friends began to wish him joy, for a 
wise man is in China the greatest and best of 
all. If Wah Sing had picked up the money, 
he would have been trained for a man of busi- 
ness, and then the friends would have tried to 
be just as glad. But he chose the best thing 
of all, and every one was greatly pleased. 

Wah Sing has grown now to be a happy 
and healthy little boy. His papa is a silk 
merchant, and the Chinese boy’s home is very 
beautiful. The house is large, but the rooms 
are all on one floor. It is not often that people 
in China build houses any higher, even if they 


14 


OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 


have a great deal of money. Why is it. do 
you suppose ? These queer people have queer 
reasons for everything. They believe in many 
evil spirits, who are always ready to do harm, 
and they think that these spirits can reach 
them more easily when they are near the 
earth. 

But if the rich people who can afford to 
build their houses high, should do so, then the 
poor only would be troubled by the evil spirits. 
This would not be fair. So all, rich as well as 
poor, build low and have only their churches 
high. They call their churches pagodas. They 
look like high towers. 

Wah Sings father chooses a strange way to 
keep everything out of his house that might 
harm his family. Evil spirits can only go in 
a straight line, he thinks. So from the door- 
way there are many corners to turn before 


OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 


15 


anyone can get inside the rooms in the house. 
The windows are made of paper. The doors 
are never closed, and the Chinese have a 
strange reason for this. If a Chinaman should 
close his doors, his neighbors would at once 
think he had a great secret, and they would 
walk into his house to find out what was the 
matter. 

The roof of his dwelling slants down, and at 
each corner is a great dragon. Around the 
house are beautiful gardens, more beautiful 
than any we have in America. There are 
lovely ponds, and beds of bright-colored plants, 
and beautiful shade trees. It is like paradise, 
the poor children think, as they sometimes 
peep over the walls. Inside the house are 
many rugs, and marble stands, and lovely 
Chinese screens. 

Until Wah Sing was six years old he stayed 



THE GARDEN OF WAH SING’S HOME 









OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 


17 


almost all the time with his dear mamma and 
his nurse. 

Poor Chinese mamma! She has a hard 
time of it, I think. She cannot go anywhere 
in the house as she pleases. She cannot go 
out and visit her friends, or go walking or 
driving as she likes, nor even eat at the table 
with Wah Sings papa, or have parties. She 
must stay in her own rooms and do just what 
her husband wishes. Sometimes she sits and 
embroiders shoes or a new silk tunic for Wah 
Sing. Then, when she is tired, she smokes 
some opium or plays cards. 

At other times, she either plays with her 
little boy or teaches him some of the many 
lessons in politeness which he must learn. 
She tells him he must always obey his papa; 
he must honor his grandpa and grandma ; he 
must never turn his back on anyone as he 


18 


OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 


leaves the room; oh, that would be such a ter- 
ribly rude thing ! He must step backwards ; 
or, at the least, he must, till he reaches the 
door, move sideways. He must always speak 
of himself as something mean and worthless ; 
he must speak to others as if they were far 
better and more important than himself. 

When his mamma has finished this lesson, 
perhaps she has her maid dress her hair. This 
great work will take hours. It is carefully 
combed up over a frame on each side of her 
head and fastened in some queer shape with 
glue. Sometimes she has a little silver flower- 
pot, with a plant in it, placed in her hair ; or, 
perhaps, big gold ornaments. She has beauti- 
ful hands, so the Chinese think. Her finger 
nails are four inches long, and are finely pol- 
ished. They are often covered with silver 
cases, that nothing may happen to them. 


OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 


19 


But why can she not walk more easily ? 
She seems to totter at every step. Poor 
woman ! it is because her feet are only two 
and a half inches long! Her husband is very 
proud of them. He calls them golden lilies, 
and tells all his friends about them. Poor, 
deformed feet, you would call them, if you 
saw them. 

When Wah Sing’s mamma was a little girl 
three years old, her mother bound her toes 
tightly under her feet. She kept the bandages 
on all the time, for she wanted the feet to 
grow in that way, that they might never 
become any larger. It would be a disgrace 
for her to have big feet. In China only the 
very poor girls who have to work let their feet 
grow. And Wah Sing’s grandma wanted her 
daughter to marry. No Chinaman would care 
to marry her if she had large feet. So there 



A DINNER PARTY. 








OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 


21 


was nothing else to do ; her feet must be kept 
bound night and day. Oh, dear, how it hurt 
the poor child ! You cannot imagine how it 
pained her. Sometimes she lay awake all 
night. But she was very proud and would 
not let any one see her cry. And these ban- 
dages were never taken off except when her 
feet were to be bathed ! But then, for the rest 
of her life she will have stubby little feet. 

Although Wah Sings mamma has so little 
to do, the women of the lower class are very 
industrious. They make handsome crape 
shawls, and spinning, weaving and sewing 
form their daily tasks. These women also 
make stockings from a material for which they 
have first spun the thread and woven the 
cloth. 

Wah Sing has two sisters; one is six years 
old and one is two. Their papa hopes he will 


22 


OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 



never have any more daughters. If he should 
be so unfortunate, he may give them away 
when they are born. 


MAKING STOCKINGS. 


Some of the poorest people in China even 
drown their little girl-babies ! Girls are not 
thought much of in China, you see. Wah 
Sing’s sisters will never go to school. Even 


OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 


23 


his mamma does not know how to read or 
write. The Chinese think it is a very bad 
thing for girls to be taught. They might not 
obey their husbands and fathers so well if 
they knew more. 

The little girls dress almost the same as 
Wah Sing, but their hair is not cut off. They 
have ugly bangs over their forehead, and the 
rest of the hair is put into one or two long 
braids and tied with a red silk cord. 

One day Wah Sings papa had a dinner 
party. His little boy had been very good and 
his father said he might come to the table. 
Wah Sing was so proud and happy ! What 
do you think they had to eat? First of all, 
sweetmeats were brought on the table. There 
were many kinds of queer candies and cakes 
and nuts. Best of all the things were the 
watermelon seeds. How fond the Chinese are 



SOWING KICK 






OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 


25 


of this curious dainty ! Why, they have whole 
gardens of watermelons, which they cultivate 
for the seeds ; and the long nails of the people 
are the very things needed to open the seeds 
easily. You may be sure Wah Sing enjoyed 
the first course. After this came fruits and 
melons ; and then that dish dear to every 
Chinese stomach — rice. No meal is perfect 
without it and the poor people live on it almost 
entirely. In the southern part of China it 
forms the principal crop. With the rice came 
fish and meat, cut up in little bits, as they 
always are in China. Why is that, do you 
think ? I see you already guess the reason. 

The Chinese have no knives and forks as 
we do. They eat with chopsticks, and very 
gracefully, too. Wah Sing would be thought 
ill-bred if he dropped a grain of rice. At his 
house the chopsticks are made of gold, for his 





SORTING AND PREPARING TKA 









OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 


27 


father is rich; those used by most people, how- 
ever, are made of bamboo or ivory. The 
dinner ended with soup, made of a kind of 
birds nests that are found only in China. Of 
course they drank plenty of tea, for you know 
most of the tea used comes from China. 

The napkins were made of rice paper. It 
seems as if nearly everything in China is made 
of paper. They have a saying there, that 
everything is made of paper and paper is made 
of everything. 

Many stories were told, and Wah Sing had 
a lovely time. I wonder if in his heart he did 
not wish his dear mamma could come to the 
table. In the midst of the dinner, he heard a 
rustle behind the paper screens. He looked 
up and saw a little hole, just a tiny bit of a 
hole, in one of them. Then he knew his 
mamma was there listening and trying to see 



LOADING TEA JUNKS 



OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 


29 



the company. That was as near as she could 
come to sharing in the fun at the dinner 
party. 


A CHINESE SCHOOL. 

When Wah Sing was six years old, he 
began to go to school. That was a great day. 
His mother dressed him in new clothes. His 
queue, which was now quite long, was tied 



30 


OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 


with a new ribbon. His father took him by 
the hand and led him to school. What do 
you think Wah Sing carried with him ? 
Books and a scholar’s companion ? Oh, no ! 
he had two candles, some incense and some 
mock money. For the most important thing 
he will do at school will be to burn the incense 
and money before the figure of Confucius. 

I wonder whether you ever heard of this 
wise man, Confucius. He lived in China 
many hundred years ago. The Chinese still 
reverence him and try to follow his teachings. 

Wah Sing made a very deep bow as he 
entered the school-room. His head almost 
touched the floor, for he stood face to face 
with the school-master. This great man 
looked at him through large spectacles of 
thick glass in big wooden rims. Dear me, 
how severe he did seem ! He held a long stick 


OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 


31 


in his hand with switches fastened at the end. 
The master used this very often on stupid 
boys. The Chinese believe that in school “ if 
you spare the rod, you spoil the child.” 

And now Wah Sing’s papa left him to his 
studies. What kind of a book do you think 
his teacher gave him? A nice little primer 
with words of two or three letters ? No, 
indeed; it was big and thick, and full of the 
wise sayings of Confucius. The Chinese lan- 
guage has no alphabet like ours. It is written 
with thousands of funny little signs, and each 
one of these is a word. So the children must 
learn all these word-signs by heart. They 
keep saying them over and over again. 

When a boy thinks he knows his lesson, he 
goes up to the teacher and hands him the 
book. He then turns his back and begins to 
repeat the words in a loud voice. But if he 


32 


OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 


fails ! That brings a flogging. You may be 
sure the boys try very hard to get their les- 
sons. They study the words aloud, and what 
a noise they make ! 

I do not see how the school-master can tell 
one boy’s words from another’s, as they study. 
But he does, and he knows every time they 
make a mistake, too. 

Did you ever see a Chinese book ? If you 
could read it you would begin at the last page 
and go from the bottom up to the top. 

Wah Sing learns to read the wise books of 
Confucius and work hard problems in arith- 
metic. But most important of all, he must be 
taught manners. He is shown how to walk 
in the street, how to enter a room, how to 
speak to strangers. A day must not go. by 
without burning incense to Confucius. 

I must not forget to tell you what strange 


OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 


33 


things Wah Sing learns in his Chinese geog- 
raphy. He is told that the earth is flat and 
that China is in the middle. Bad people live 
all around the edges and are always trying to 
get into the country. Perhaps that is why the 
Chinese are so afraid of strangers. It must 
be one of the reasons that it is so hard for 
travelers to know more about them. 

Wah Sing is a very bright boy, so his 
teacher thinks. He learns his lessons quickly. 
He says to himself, “ I will go to college just 
as soon as I can.” So every morning at sun- 
rise he is in the school-room. He studies till 
ten o’clock. Then he goes home to breakfast. 
At noon he goes back to school and works 
hard till five o’clock. He has no vacation 
except on special holidays. That seems rather 
hard, doesn’t it ? Yet, after all, Wah Sing has 
lots of fun. 



PLAYING SHUTTLECOCK 


OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 


35 


He enjoys his games and toys as much as 
you do in America. He has his chums, too. 
There is one playmate of whom he is very 
fond. The two boys like to play shuttlecock 
together in Wah Sing’s garden. This is some- 
thing like football, only the boys use the soles 
of their feet instead of the toes. 

Then there is the game of dragon. It takes 
several children to play this. The dragon is 
very large and is made of bamboo hoops and 
covered with cloth. It is painted to look like 
a dragon. The boys hang lanterns inside of 
it and hold it up on poles. They carry this 
queer long thing around and make believe it 
is alive. How it turns and twists ! How 
queer it looks with the light shining through ! 
It is a funny sight. 

Then the boys play “ Lion, chase the ball.” 
Wah Sing thinks this is the best fun of all. 



FLYING KITES 



OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 


37 


The boys make the lion of bamboo and cloth. 
Two of the children put their heads and 
shoulders inside and carry it. The lions 
mouth is kept open so that the boys inside 
can look out. Another boy carries a big ball 
and the lion tries to catch it. How they all 
laugh and shout ! How they dodge round the 
corners of the garden ! The sober little 
Chinese are lively enough now. 

But Wah Sing’s kites ! If you saw them I 
am afraid you would envy him. He has one 
in the shape of a dragon, which makes music 
as it sails along; another like a bat; still 
another, a butterfly ; and one is such a beauti- 
ful ship. Best of all, Wah Sing can light 
up his kites inside. As they sail through 
the air on windy days and nights they are 
lovely sights. A Chinese boy must be very 
poor indeed if he does not own at least one 


38 


OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 


fine kite, for China is the home of these 
playthings. 

There is a holiday once a year which is cele- 
brated all over China. It is called Kite Day. 
That is the time for every Chinese boy and 
Chinese man, too, to put up at least one kite. 
There is no business or school on that day, 
you may be sure. What a queer sight Wah 
Sings city must be then ! The air is filled 
with kites of all kinds; big kites, little kites, 
kites that look like snakes wriggling around 
in the air, flocks of birds that come flying 
away from a hawk, bouquets of flowers, man 
kites, woman kites, and kites that explode in 
the air in fire-works. 

There is something else of which Wah 
Sing is very fond. That is the beautiful lan- 
tern his papa gave him his last birthday. It 
is in the shape of a horse, and, if he lights it 


OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 


39 


and puts it on the floor, it will gallop along 
without being touched. He is very proud of 
it, but still he is not satisfied. He is hoping 
that next time his “ most venerable parent,” as 
he has been taught to call his papa, will give 
him a lantern like a ship, that will sail on his 
pond. 

I think the Chinese are as fond of lanterns 
as they are of their kites. Every Chinaman 
is obliged by law to carry one when he goes 
on the street at night. There are many 
shops in China where they sell nothing but 
lanterns. 

Just now Wah Sing is looking forward to 
the Feast of Lanterns. It comes on the first 
full moon of the year and there will be a great 
celebration. All the houses will be lighted up, 
different kinds of lanterns will be hung before 
the doors, there will be fire-works, and music, 



MEETING THE SPRING 







OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 


41 


and processions, and everything to make a boy 
happy. 

There is another great festival which Wah 
Sing enjoys very much. It is the ceremony 
of “ Meeting the Spring.” Ten days are given 
to this festival, and a different object is wor- 
shipped each day. 

At the appointed time a procession is formed, 
which goes forth to meet the coming spring. 
Many in the procession are decorated with 
ribbons and garlands ; some carry drums, 
gongs, and horns, while others carry lanterns, 
banners, and artificial fruits. Sometimes there 
are a hundred tables, or litters, in the pro- 
cession, each having on them a number of 
gaily dressed boys and girls. 

Upon arriving at the temple, the Priest of 
Spring comes out to welcome them. He 
makes a speech upon the praises of spring, 



A SHADOW SHOW. 





OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 


43 


after which those who were in the procession 
proceed to the various public places, where 
medals and images are thrown out to them. 

There are so many things to amuse Wah 
Sing. Sometimes a “ shadow man ” comes by 
the house. He will stop if he sees the boy in 
the garden and give him a show. If you look 
at the picture, you will see that the man stands 
with a big box over his head. A curtain is 
fastened on the box and brought down to his 
feet and tied. The man works the shadows 
on the screen in the front of the box. He 
knows how to make funny shadows that will 
make the children laugh wherever he goes. 

There are many other kinds of street shows 
in China. Sometimes they are dancing dolls, 
sometimes Punch and Judy shows. Often it 
is “ peep ” box, and the children look in and 
see wonderful things. 



* 


THE DANCING DOLLS 




OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 


45 


Wah Sing has many pets and is very fond 
of them. He has a pigeon house, like many 
a boy in America. One of his pigeons is a 
tame “ tumbler.” It has this name because it 
turns so many somersaults ; but it always 
lands on its feet. Wah Sing is never tired of 
watching it. 

But the pets he loves best of all are his 
crickets ; little black crickets, just like the ones 
in this country that chirp around the house on 
cold nights in the fall of the year. Wah Sing 
keeps his crickets in little cages made of bam- 
boo. He takes good care of them and sees 
that they have food and water every day. He 
often carries one of them about with him. 
Now of what use do you suppose crickets are? 
Did you ever hear of the bull-fights in Spain ? 
The Chinese have cricket fights instead. So 
when Wah Sing wants to have more fun than 


46 


OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 



usual, he asks his little friends to a cricket 
fight. 

The moment two crickets touch each other 
they will begin to fight with their jaws and 


WATCHING A CRICKET FIGHT 

feet. They will not stop a moment till one of 
them drops dead. It is very exciting to the 
children who watch the crickets. They hardly 
breathe or move. But what a cruel sport ! It 



OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 


47 


is a shame that Chinese fathers let their chil- 
dren amuse themselves in such a way. It is 
hard to believe it, but Chinamen themselves 
often have cricket fights and bet on them. 
They get as excited over them as the chil- 
dren do. 

Chinese children, however, have many other 
pets, such as rabbits, kittens, and gold fish, of 
which they are very fond. A sort of thrush, 
called “the bird with the flowery eyebrow,” is 
also highly prized, and you may often see the 
boys walking on the city walls, or other open 
spaces, carrying their caged birds out for an 
airing. 

Nuts and candy are also in as much demand 
as among American girls and boys. The 
candy-man, as he carries his two baskets sus- 
pended from a pole, is always a welcome visi- 
tor to Chinese boys and girls. Toys, also, 


48 


OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 


made of clay or pasteboard are in great 
demand ; and when they hear the gong of the 


A TRAVELLING TOY-MAN. 

toy-peddler every child runs to see what he 
has new. 

Wah Sing does not have any special day to 



OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 


49 


go to church. There is no Sunday in China. 
The days are all alike to him except the holi- 
days. But he often goes to the pagoda to 
pray and burn incense. 

The pagodas are always open and the priests 
stay there day and night. But they are not 
like any church you ever saw. Broad strips 
of brightly colored paper and silks are on the 
walls and hanging from the ceiling. There 
are images of Chinese gods in different parts 
of the temple. The priests are beating gongs 
and making fearful noises which the Chinese 
call music. 

Here and there are little tables of sweet- 
meats. Perhaps you think they are for the 
people who get hungry. Not at all. Wah 
Sing will go up to one of the stands and buy 
some candy of a priest. Then he carries it to 
another part of the pagoda and offers it as a 


50 


OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 



present to his dead relatives ; for the Chinese 
believe in the worship of their ancestors. The 
children are taught to honor their fathers and 
obey them strictly. That is not all, however. 


Their grandfathers and great-grandfathers and 
even those who lived before them, must be 
worshipped always. 

When the parent dies the child’s duty is not 


OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 


51 


done. He must serve his father more than 
ever. Although the dead one cannot be seen, 
he needs presents. So the child must get him 
clothes and furniture. These clothes, however, 
are made of paper and are burnt as offerings 
before the ancestral tablets. 

Millions of dollars are spent in China every 
year on these presents to the dead. 

In Wah Sing’s house there is a hall kept in 
honor of his ancestors. In this hall is a large 
tablet of marble, and on it are the names of 
his dead relatives. It is very ugly. Beside 
it are many little images, one for each member 
of the family who has died. Their birthdays 
are all honored. 

And now let me tell you what present Wah 
Sing will soon make his dear papa. He has 
been saving his money for a long time. It 
will be an elegant coffin, and his father will be 


52 


OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 


greatly pleased. He will keep it carefully for 
his own burial. Rather a strange present, you 
will think ; but the Chinese consider it the 
very nicest one a son can give, for they are 
not afraid to die. They know they will be 
worshipped and they believe that some time 
they will come back to this earth again in new 
bodies. 

When Wah Sing goes to the pagoda he 
must not forget the praying machine. He 
writes some little prayers to the gods and puts 
them on the spokes of the funny wheel. He 
can turn the wheel around as many times as 
he has said the prayers. Of course, he likes . 
to turn it a good many times. That will show 
how much he honors the gods. 

A few days ago Wah Sings papa told him 
he might go fishing on the river. 

The river is nearly a mile from his house. 


OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 


53 


He had to go through one of the business 
streets to get there. The streets are very 
narrow, hardly more than paths. There are 
no sidewalks, but the people do not need them 
as they walk in the middle of the street ; for 
there are no horses, nor are there any wagons 
or wheels. 

Wah Sing rode along in his palanquin. It 
was carried by two coolies, as the poorest 
Chinese workmen are called. Every little 
while he stopped to see the sights. A peddler 
of sweetmeats came along. He carried his 
wares in a big tray. Wah Sing stopped him 
and bought some, for he liked candy. 

But what funny sight is this? A wheel- 
barrow with a sail fastened to it ! A man was 
pushing it easily, although he had a big load. 
The sail helped him very much. The work- 
man’s little child sat in front of the sail. He 



A TRAVELLING BARBER 



OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 


55 


was enjoying his ride. Wah Sing almost 
wished he was a poor boy ; he thought it 
more fun to go that way than in his fine 
palanquin. 

Sometimes the Chinese walk with sails on 
their shoulders to help them along. They say it 
is foolish to use the wind only when we ride on 
the water ; we can sail 
on the land just as well. 

Wah Sing saw many 
children playing along 
the streets. They were 
poor, so they had to 
take care of their little 
brothers and sisters. 

They had no baby-car- 
riages. The babies 
were bound on their 
backs ; but they did not seem to mind that. 





THE CAT PEDDLER 


OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 


57 


They were romping and running around at a 
great rate. 

As Wah Sing proceeds on his way, he sees 
many things that would seem very strange to 
you. Among them is a barber busily engaged 
in dressing a Chinaman’s hair. This barber 
carries his utensils about with him from place 
to place, and will stop on the street to attend 
to a customer’s wants. 

The little boy’s attention 
is next drawn to a man 
kneeling on the ground, and 
dressed in a very ragged 
tunic. Wah Sing knows 
at once that this is a street- 
beggar, so he drops a piece 
of money into the basin 
which the beggar holds in front of him. 

Look ! see that peddler going along the 




A CHINESE MERCHANT 



OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 


59 


street. What are those animals in the cages ? 
Cats ? Sure enough ! The Chinese cook 
them for dinner, and the poor people are as 
fond of them as you are of chicken pie. Why, 
they even raise a certain kind of dog for 
stews. There is no accounting for tastes, is 
there ? 

Soon after Wah Sing had passed the cat 
peddler, he came to his fathers store. His 
father has beautiful things to sell. There are 
no windows or doors in his store, but the 
whole front of it is open, and if you wish to 
buy anything of him you have only to stop, 
turn to the counter, and be waited upon. 

There are no elevators or stairways in 
Chinese stores. As you walk or ride along 
the streets you can see the things spread out 
and so can choose easily what you wish. I 
think it must be far more pleasant to go shop- 



V 


HAULING BARGES ALONG THE RIVER 


OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 


61 


ping in China than in the crowded buildings 
of our cities, don’t you ? 

But let us go back to Wah Sing. His 
father was just going to leave the store when 
his little boy got there. He seated himself in 
another palanquin and went with him to the 
river. 

Wah Sing had no hook and line. Oh, no; 
the Chinese have an easier way of fishing than 
that. They use big nets which they put down 
in the water ; then, after a little while, they 
give a big pull. Up comes the net full of 
fish. 

But Wah Sing did not do this. He had an 
easier way still. His papa hired a cormorant 
of a boatman. Did you ever see one? It is 
a big bird and rather stupid, too. He is 
trained to catch the fish. See how still he 
sits, watching the water. Ah ! he sees one. 



PISHING WITH A CORMORANT, 


OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 


63 


Now he darts his head down, and up comes a 
big fish in his mouth, which he lays at Wah 
Sing’s feet. 

But why didn’t the bird eat the fish ? Do 
you see the leather band around his throat? 
The boatman put it on to keep him from 
swallowing the fish. Poor bird ! he has a hard 
time of it; but once in a while Wah Sing 
gives him a small fish that he can swallow. 

When Wah Sing grew tired of this sport he 
took a walk along the shores of the river with 
his father. He watched some children playing 
on a house-boat. 

In China there are so many people that 
great numbers of them live in boats on the 
rivers. They even raise chickens on board the 
boats. Some of the little children, especially 
the boys, are tied to the deck with ropes; 
others have little barrels tied on their backs. 


64 


OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 


Thus they can be saved if they tumble over- 
board while they are playing. 

There is no country in the world where 
there are so many people as in China. Thou- 
sands of poor families live on a few pennies a 
day. You may be sure they do not wear 
silken tunics like Wah Sing; nor do they 
often have sweetmeats. They wear coarse 
clothes, and eat rice for breakfast, dinner and 
supper. But, like Wah Sing, they have day 
while we have night, and think that Americans 
are queer people. When Wah Sing grows up 
he will travel to this country and see us. 















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